From the recollections of Sasha.

Of this chapter I shall be brief for it was a journey most tedious and sorrowful to me.

It seems sometimes that I shall never know a day of peace and the day after the recital was no exception, for just when I had planned to explore my new found fame we were called to the church of Morrow by the good Father Dumas. I am certain that even in Death I shall have chores given to me at the threshold of paradise and sometimes I think that it would be nice to look forward to the peaceful oblivion that Cyric promises awaits the followers of Menoth. But I digress...

Father Dumas greeted us and gave us his news with out delay. Alexia had attacked a small church to the east of Corvis and had only stayed long enough to steal away a few books and then disappeared into the swamp once again. The church itself was largely left unharmed and was a smaller sect of the church of Morrow that kept a rather extensive library. When we inquired as to which books were stolen, we were further informed that the missing tomes were ancient texts pertaining to Cyriss, Maiden of Gears! We were also told of a strange temple of Cyriss that was not only rumored to "travel" across the land but also held the secrets of true resurrection!

We had no doubt that this was the destination of poor Alexia but we were yet to learn that the weirdest fact about the mechanika temple was that it would only be in the hidden location for 2 days time and in that time the doors would only open for 10 hours. Three days from now we had to find the temple and stop Alexia from committing her evil deed or all would be lost.

Much to our surprise we were not only offered a modest sum of money for our new assignment but would also meet a new companion in the form of an albino elven monk who happened to be at the church delivering a letter to Elezain. The agreeable monk went by the name of Lorn and I was not surprised to learn that he bore the mark of Eldamar. I suspect that soon enough new companions will be popping out of reality to aid us!

We commandeered a vessel leaving up the Black River called the Fortune which was captained by a man named Squint. Along the way upriver I had the chance to try some of the local fare and regret it to this day. Deep fried Possum is not quite the delicacy you would think. One night we were attacked by some kind of aquatic undead and the next day we were holed by a large swinging log trap set out by a race of creatures called Gatormen!

After a grueling fight which left our group nearly exhausted entirely of healing we managed to beat back the last of the Gatormen and in fact even captured one of the brutes for possible information.

The Gatorman proved quite cooperative after reviewing his situation and told us that if we brought him to the Gatorman village we could perhaps not only find out the way to the temple but even receive a guide!

We reached the temple with time to spare so we decided to rest a little while and take in the sun and surrounding jungle.

The doors opened with a mechanical shifting sound and upon entering we could see that Alexia had beaten us to the temple and had clearly cut a swath through the temples clerics guarding the door. As we penetrated deeper into the metal halls a throbbing hum started to get louder and louder until I feared that my ears would burst when I was suddenly jerked from my surroundings and found myself kneeling in a grassy plain along with Elezain, Jesse and a new comer.

Reacting quicker than my companions I came to my feet and drew my whip about me in preparation for an attack. The newcomer looked up and bared his fangs at us while bringing his monstrous axe up in a threatening manner. A look of intelligence played across his misshapen features and I was surprised to hear the creature question us and in Cygnarin no less. Was this creature a half-orc?

We were about to exchange information ... or blows I'm not quite sure to this day but the sound of hideous laughter broke the surrounding calm and we knew now why we were here and what we had to do. The Demon Destroyer was upon us once again!

The ground shook violently and the earth tore asunder as a chasm opened up between us putting Jesse and myself on one edge and Elezain on the other.

A shrill female voice cut through the upheaval and bespoke of our imminent slaughter. She promised that she would personally see to our deaths and I promptly replied that if she ever gathered the courage to face us in battle then I would certainly be ready to smack her down. That made her mad! She called herself Modron concubine of the Horned God and again I replied that the supposed horned god had been cowed too easily with my whip and if she had any sense she too would know when she was mastered! Then the lightening came.

Many lightening bolts descended among us and when the smoke cleared evil looking humanoids stood amongst the charred earth where the bolts had struck, their weapons were drawn against us.

Jesse charged two of the creatures and they proved very tough opponents. Myself, being only modestly trained in the martial arts leapt across the chasm and taunted my foe to do the same and when it was sailing through the air I laid my whip across his eyes and caused him to falter and come up short. With the gentle persuasion of my boot he fell back into the chasm, screaming to his fouled mistress as he tumbled downward. It was at this time that I noticed that the surrounding terrain was literally breaking away and in a minute or two we would be plummeting to our deaths.

I took up position to aid Elezain against his advisory and called out to warn my companions of the crumbling ground. The half orc who had been dumped into our midst seemed to handle his axe very competently and he too felled one of the minions of Modron. We overcame the creatures but in the heat of battle the half orc had been wounded and now lay unconscious.

We were about to despair as the ground was loosening about our feat when I hit upon the idea to space ourselves out as we had been when we had first arrived. Charging to what we recalled to be our positions the ground gave way under us and we fell into darkness ...

I awoke to see my friends looking down at me and once again I was surrounded by the hum of mechanika and enclosed in the brass halls of the temple of Cryss. Our fellows confirmed that those of us who had battled the Horned ones bitch had simply dropped to the ground a moment earlier and the only proof of the skirmish was the battered and confused Half orc sitting by my side. In a repeating prophecy of sorts Ooleroc, as he called himself, also bore the mark of Eldamar and I knew that I surely had the attentions of the higher powers, and they had it in for me!

We decided to continue further into the temple of Cyriss and after many scrapes and stumbles we made it to the final chamber where Alexia was in the process of raising her mother from the dead.

The final battle against Alexia was very hard fought and there were many deaths. I still wonder if I could have done anything to prevent Jesse's death but in the end I have come to realize that when your number is up, it's time to go.

From the diaries of Elezain of Ios:

The death of Jessica and Cyric weigh heavily on my soul. I somehow feel myself laying the blame upon my shoulders. If only I were better trained in the magical arts I could have prevented their deaths. My lack of power is what cost them their lives, it is a shortcoming that I will rectify, I swear…

Following the events of freeing Father Dumas we journeyed to the Church of Morrow to rendezvous with Captain Helstrom. When we arrived at the Church we saw Inquisition members posted all around. As I nocked my arrow, I felt a cold feeling in my stomach, an anger stirred within me that I have never felt before. I spotted a wizard in their ranks and let a shaft fly through his throat slaying him outright. With Oolorok and Lorn following behind we dispatched the group though one did manage to get away. We had to make haste or else reinforcements would be coming back soon. Father Dumas and Helstrom exchanged greetings and agreed that it was safer for Dumas to go into hiding. A new face was present here, a dwarf named Baroque, a follower of the Twelve Fathers. He bore the Mark of the Ancients and if Eldamar placed his trust in a dwarf then who am I to argue. I doubt, however, that a dwarf could see the difference between mosses on a rock and a regal tree. How could someone love rocks … unthinkable?

In the wake of the recent deaths, I tried to number my original compatriots-those whom I would trust with my life in battle. The number ran one. No sooner had I realised this when Sasha (that one) came bounding through the door. He bore marks of his own adventure, along with a man and woman alongside him. As interested as I was in learning their stories it was prudent we move to a safer environment. We agreed to go seek Master Heinrich to seek solace in his abode. As soon as we left the church, a familiar voice sounded out of what seemed to be nowhere. Orcrist always had that annoying habit of surprising you when you least expected it. He came into the city with a scout in training to warn us that Vinter had mobilized a secret army. He charged us with locating and scouting information about this army and reporting back. Charging his trainee, Vlad, to accompany us we set out for Heinrich’s. With some downtime I began to scribe some new spells that I had acquired into my spellbook. It would have gone much quicker if not for the screaming of “More More More” and “Harder Harder Harder” emanating from Sasha’s room. It seems young Sasha did dip the “quill” in the proverbial ink. I understand why many would call him a scoundrel. Humans, it would seem, simply cannot control their passions any better than a dog. It is who they are and such is their nature.

In the morning, the poor lass was distraught at how she betrayed her one true love. If her love was one and true I doubt she would have fallen for Sasha’s charms. As love has the ability to see all truth’s and pierces all illusions. I do believe the fact that her legs were most likely pinned to her ears that this compromising position could not be conducive to fast thinking. Vlad managed to calm her down and Sasha made some more promises though I do not care to know what those promises were. We all got together and made plans to better equip our rag tag group. The decision was made to sell some loot and some of Jessica’s gear to finance some equipment for the party. It seems our newfound members have a taste for the finer things in life and spent an exorbitant amount of money on the best Corvis had to offer in weapons and armor. I finally acquired the necessary components to attempt my ritual of summoning a familiar for myself. I always had the funds but found that I lacked any semblance of time to purchase and perform the ritual. That being said I didn’t have time to perform the ritual today either in the fates cruel form of irony.

It was decided that we needed to acquire information and the logical place for us to begin was with Master Burbich at the Unicorn. Drabbed in hooded cloaks with our weapons hidden underneath we made our way to the inn. As we were about to enter the inn, we were warned by the bouncer that some “friends” are inside already. We looked for an alternate way in but found the place cased in the alleyway as well. We left a note with the bouncer detailing a rendezvous point for us to meet. As we made our way down the street we saw a crowd gathered with a man screaming rhetoric at the top of his lungs. As we got closer he was spewing garbage about the “Demon Destroyer”. Are we always doomed to meet these buffoons? In the middle of his tirade he saw some of us and recognized us for what we were and fled the gathering screaming in terror. We followed him into a dead end alley with some onlookers close by curious about his screaming. Then in a display of utter gore he pulled open his chest and a purple pulsating energy began to ascend out of his chest. This energy or entity began to pulsate and flood the street with a necromantic aura. The rest of the party was amazed, dumfounded or truly new to this experience, but I sensed what was happening and laid an enchantment of armor on Lorn (it was the sorrow of seeing him fall many times in battle that made me memorize this spell) then I slowly drew out my bow and placed an arrow on the string. The people who were innocent bystanders at the beginning began to transform into hideous grey mottled skin creatures with disjointed legs and the ability to leap great distances and climb on vertical walls. We were hard pressed. To make matters worse they had a limited ability to regenerate minor wounds. Sasha and I played the game of enchanting my arrows with the elemental notes and slaying these hellspawn. While the dwarf in a divine feat of faith laid an enchantment on Oolarock’s axe enabling it to cleanly cut the monstrosities. With both the clerics attempting to drive the beasts off with their faith, the warriors (Vlad, Oolarock, Lorn) fought valiantly. Oolarock kept on tripping or fumbling about. How the orc has no sense of finesse! With the battle well in hand and our fallen comrades healed to consciousness, all seemed to be good. But just then the body of the preacher began to float and the purple energy from before seemed to slowly coalesce around it. Vlad in a heroic act cut off the head of the corpse but was then infused with the energy of the entity. Quickly understanding that the evil force now possessed him and repelling any attempt of infusing him with positive healing energy, I formulated that a repository of greater good would drive the evil out of his body. Contemplating on what the next logical step would be I saw the vial around Oolarock’s neck. The sap of Eldemar!!! What could contain more positive essence than the pure sap of the life tree, I quickly told Oolarock to hand it to me and I raced to Vlad’s body. Quickly I dispensed a drop into his throat. What happened next was not as I intended, instead of killing the host energy, the essence of the tree attacked the whole body. Vlad’s body melted into ooze and he perished in front of my eyes. I felt as if I failed but better that than to come back as a minion of the Demon Destroyer. With the party screaming at me, not understanding what really happened I turned around only to be sucker punched by Oolarock. With the anger welling inside of me I drew my bow and aimed an arrow at his heart. Clearly from this distance it would be impossible for me to miss my mark and kill him for impetuousness. How dare he strike a noble of the courts of Ios; that scum! If we were in Ios he would be slain outright! With much hatred in my blood, the party pointed out the mass crowd beginning to form around the alley. Where there were people the inquisitors would soon follow. Lowering my weapon I swore that Oolarock would be nothing more than an orc to me from that day on and would receive the respect that all orcs deserve. None.

We made our way back to Heinrich’s apartment and rested for a few days. I spent my time to myself in solitude and prepared the ritual to summon my wizard’s familiar. That very same night at the stroke of midnight I heard a noise at the window. I opened it up to see nothing, as I was closing the window I heard a flutter and a flap. I peered out into the night sky with my excellent vision but saw nothing. Then a flash of movement came across my face into the room. As I turned I saw an owl perched on the chair in front of me, looking at me with a unnatural intelligence not befitting to birds. When I looked into its eyes I felt a surge of emotion: friendship, companionship, and understanding. Some wizards will say it is they who find their familiars and forge them to their wills. But I truly believe that a familiar finds you and bends it to yours, for you find yourself absorbed with its essence. The world forever changes from that point on. I said to the owl, “I shall name you Moonfeather”.

 

As taken from the Diary of Jurdol of Ios: From another perspective!

 

My dearest Skylar,

So much has changed since I left the shrine of Angellia. I found my way to Corvis, with the remaining gold from the shrine, and successfully contacted Dumas, the High Prelate of Morrow. He received me gracefully, but was mindful of current events in the city. A coup has just taken place here that resulted in a change of political leadership. Many of the ranking officials in Corvis have been murdered, no doubt to eliminate their opposition.

This is the whirlwind into which I have been thrown. More than ever, I now understand why the foremothers of our shrine nestled themselves so deeply in the wilderness to escape this mockery of civilization! But that’s not all. The whirlwind proved too strong for me, and I was drawn into the maelstrom.

To protect the sanctity of the Church of Morrow, Dumas has invested his trust into a diverse band of, well… roustabouts; a haggard lot to be sure. Shortly after Dumas dispatched one of his disciples to gather the needed resources for our shrine, he spoke of a fellow named Sasha who was set to rescue a man named Rodrigo. I’m still not clear about all the details, but Rodrigo was kidnapped and taken to another part of the city. All of this information came to Dumas from an aristocrat named Isabella, who is the promised lover of Rodrigo.

I suspect the High Prelate did not completely trust Sasha, because he urged me to join their rescue attempt. I soon understood why. Sasha was incorrigible! Here we were, setting out to recover the love of her life, and all he could do was suffocate this poor woman with romantic advances! The impudent knave!

The carriage drove until we were stopped by a roadblock of guards (the newly formed militia sweeping through Corvis) who demanded that Sasha and I exit the carriage and step forward. I was very brave Skylar. I stood my ground, ready to fight these ruffians if need be. But Sasha simply opened his palms, smiled broadly, and began talking to them in sugary tones. I was left with naught to do but follow his lead.

When asked why he was traveling with a well known aristocrat and a priest of Morrow, Sasha claimed that I was his confessor. What nerve! The guards found this fabrication unlikely, as of course any poltroon would. (I could see that Sasha was the kind of fellow who stepped into danger without so much as a forethought.) I quickly corrected his rapidly decaying story by saying that I was in fact there to “chaperone” the lady Isabella and ensure that her virtue remain intact, which wasn’t too far from the truth. The guards found my explanation infinitely more plausible and allowed us to continue.

We arrived at a great hall, where Isabella claimed that Rodrigo was being held captive. Sasha quickly slipped through the front doors with the stealth of a cat. I followed behind with Isabella and her manservant, but it wasn’t until we approached the main doors that she turned to me and insisted that I should leave immediately, not wanting to see any harm befall a young priest of Morrow. Sasha was walking into a trap. So I said aloud, “No milady, I will not leave this place, no matter how much you insist!” At which point her manservant leveled a pistol at my head.

How exciting! I have never seen a pistol before, and especially so close! You should have seen me Skylar! There was nary a bead of sweat on my brow the whole time! The rest happened quickly. Sasha must have heard me, because out of nowhere a crossbow bolt impaled the pistol wielding manservant. His firearm fell to the ground and discharged itself. BANG! I was up like a shot, my weapon in hand, my arm guided by Morrow. The poor soul never knew what hit him.

The ambush was revealed. Several men emerged out of the great hall. Sasha and I were under attack, but we had both come prepared. Him with a whip and arcane music; me with a mace and divine retribution. Suffice it to say that we drove the ambushers back. But even as they retreated, one of their number attempted to escape with Isabella, now in tow. Sasha cracked his whip and hurried after the purloiner, while I stayed behind to... finish off the remaining attacker.

A short time passed and Sasha returned with Isabella, albeit in flight. A tall hideous creature was following them, shaking the floor with each step. Clearly it was time to flee. I took Isabella from the exhausted Sasha, flung her over my shoulder, and called upon Ellena to empower my own steps with divine speed. She did not fail me. We clamored back into the carriage and rode off, leaving the creature of darkness in our wake. It was revealed shortly thereafter that Isabella was a hapless pawn in this whole sordid mess, manipulated by her love for Rodrigo.

Sasha piloted the carriage back to the Church of Morrow where we came upon another sight of carnage. The new city militia had attempted to bar access to the church, when that band of roustabouts I mentioned earlier (all companions of Sasha) defeated them in a pitched battle; apparently with the blessing of Dumas no less!

Next, a half-orc named Oolarock (one of the above roustabouts) approached me and asked for my forgiveness as a priest of Morrow, having struck down a man who begged for his life. I’ll be honest Skylar, I barely managed to pardon this creature without dropping my holy symbol. I figured that in order for such a creature to keep being a ferocious warrior, giving him a “guilt-free” conscience was the most sensible thing to do. Either that or I was undone by the bloody short sword he was absently holding in his sinewy mitt. At any rate, I considered the fact that he was even “asking” for forgiveness a good sign.

Sasha finished speaking with another gentleman (who spoke in condescending tones) and then everybody encountered a half-elven ranger in the church courtyard (who foisted his young protégé upon the group). Following these events, we all boarded the carriage and rode through town again, this time arriving at the abandoned house of a musician. The owner was abducted by the new regime in Corvis, along with all the other established musicians in town, most of whom Sasha seems to know personally. The purpose of staying in this house was to remain hidden.

By all accounts, this group has amassed more than their fair share of enemies. Am I wise to keep their company Skylar? Their purpose seems honorable and I can’t help but admire their resolve.

After one day or rest, everybody became restless to purchase new equipment. None of them were apparently content with their armor or weapons and so they entrusted me to buy their list of desired possessions. Egad! The wealth these men collectively possess could rebuild our damaged shrine several times over! If such money flows freely through the hands of these warriors, then perhaps I can acquire enough of a share to restore our wilderness church back to its former glory! In the mean time, I executed my appointed duty and they outfitted me with superior armor and masterwork weapons for my troubles.

The next day, we tried to avoid being conspicuous (a difficult task to be sure). The group hadn’t traveled far when we encountered an odd little man who was speaking about the arrival of daemons to a crowd of onlookers. That is, until he saw us. The odd little man looked at everyone in the group except me, and then ran away still muttering to himself. We followed him into an alleyway, where a most disturbing event took place. The odd little man was experiencing intense physical spasms that culminated with ripping his own chest open!

I deceive you not Skylar! A noxious glowing orb began to emerge out of his chest. I would tell you more but that’s when the most unspeakable revulsion overcame me, like a sickly claw raking itself across my brain, trying to find purchase in my soul. This was the most wretched feeling I have ever experienced. I called upon Rowan this time, and she aided me, driving the wretched pestilence out of my mind. Strangely, the rest of the group was completely unaffected.

As for the nearby street folk… it was a different story.

They had been transformed into demonic servants of the undead. This was the fate I escaped! Without wasting a moment, everybody knew exactly what to do. We tore into these creatures of false life with a combat lust heretofore unknown in my heart. Indeed, it seemed like nothing would stop us; not struggling to cut through hardened flesh, not endeavoring to dodge freshly grown talons.

I did the best I could.

Fighting alongside these battle-ready veterans was invigorating! Whenever one of our number fell, I rushed to their side and healed them back to consciousness. Eventually the battle began to wane as undead bodies exploded into so much dust. Victory was achieved, or so we thought, until the odd little man began to float up off the ground, spinning around in circles this time, faster and faster, until a glowing ball was all that remained. Something foul was about to erupt, and we all knew it. That’s when the ranger protégé lurched forward to strike the glowing mass with his sword.

Nobody could have guessed what would happen next, but what did happen was this…

As the ranger’s sword struck the glowing orb, the noxious glowing light instantly plummeted into his body. The young ranger looked like he was gasping for air as he pointed into his mouth. The elven archer in the party demanded a vile from the half-orc that he wore about his neck. The half-orc reluctantly agreed and the elf opened the vile, allowing a single drop to fall onto the gasping ranger’s tongue.

Within an instant the young man was gone, percolating out of himself into nothingness. Whatever the elven archer had hoped to accomplish... it clearly did not work.

Nobody could believe it, most of all the half-orc, who punched the elven archer squarely in the face. There was no time to lose now. The new city militia was fast approaching so I dispersed the crowd by claiming that an undead plague had infected the area. Everybody in the group gathered for a moment and then split up, reconvening at the musician’s house after nightfall.

The next two days were spent healing and hiding from the authorities. I haven’t stopped thinking about that young ranger who died; the look of desperation on his face just before his body was consumed. There was no time to honor his death properly. When I get a chance, I will return to the spot where he perished and perform a burial ritual.

My dearest Skylar, so much has changed for me… and in such little time. I am getting swept into a whirlwind here in Corvis, and to be honest, I have stopped resisting it. As always, my thoughts are with you and the shrine of Angellia. I will carry myself with the dignity that you, my beautiful twin sister, have exampled.

Your devoted twin brother,

Jurdol